


Collie Shangles

by EnidZsasz



Category: Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms, Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Ben Solo/ Rey - Freeform, Ben is Moriarty, Cuckhold (Mention), Death, F/M, Finn is Watson, Jack the Ripper - Freeform, Kinky victorian era sex, Murder, Not your mothers victorian, Poe is Holmes, Rey is Irene, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren - Freeform, Reylo - Freeform, Romance, Suicide, Victorian, Virgin Rey (Star Wars), implied rape, kill, sherlockian - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-06
Updated: 2019-05-31
Packaged: 2020-02-27 06:49:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18733810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EnidZsasz/pseuds/EnidZsasz
Summary: Trouble is a brewing, when is it not in London during this age. It seems as though you can't pass a simple street corner without a detective, or murder. Ray, a girl masquerading as a boy to make travel easier has just blown in with a small caravan. Seeking work she reads the paper and finds a few cryptic notes in it, and meets with Finnegan Watson, and Poe Dameron Holmes. They are two detectives who with a recent injury to Poe have been seeking help. Ray passing the mettle of the clues in the paper is the only one who passes. Thus sending her into a world of intrigue, murder, deception, and perhaps, just a drop of romance.





	1. Hidden in Plain sight

The young boy stood by the man reading a paper and through a sidelong glance caught short snippets of the printed type. It seemed like random letters were capitalized and there was a few other boys with another paper and some scraps of butcher paper and a grease pencil, they all were going over the capital letters as they went though the paper. It was nothing but a bunch of random letters on the paper, and the older man shook his head as they grew a bit heated over if it was a ceaser cipher, or something else. The young lad didn't know a thing what they were talking about. The older man huffed, and folded the paper into his hands and looked to him. "Hello lad, here." he handed her the paper and he smiled up to the older man. Nodding with his thick cap and taking the paper. Touching his throat as the old man frowned he nodded. "Mute son?" he nodded to the older man. He pulled out one little coin from the pocket. "Poor thing." he handed the coin over and then left, no one the wiser of the mans gift he put the coin into his pocket. 

Taking the newly got paper he quickly left the scene, and towards the smell of food, stomach crawling in hunger. The coin bought a greasy meat pie, and he ran his eyes over the paper, looking for work. To get coins, to get money, he had to get a job. There were several advertised, but it seemed like those capital letters had started to make sense in these ads. Among the random letters he caught 'H E L P, W, A, N, T, E, D' and frowned. Puzzling out the rest as his eyes flicked over the paper. 'Young capable man for all around work, must be healthy and active. Start immediately. Must be able to fight, knowledge of more then two languages is highly wanted." He blinked, not needing a paper to go through this sort of puzzle. After this message was an address, and he looked around. It couldn't be a coincidence, and from the look of the various other jobs, all requiring various experiences he didn't have, he brushed off the pies crumbs, and grimaced at the grease on his clothes. 

It couldn't be helped as he moved out towards the address, the late hour just starting to show red light. A laughing couple of men, very rowdy, passed by him, and despite his lack of wanting for causing a scene, he slipped a practiced hand into one of their coats, and found his wallet. Quickly making it disappear into his own clothes as they stumbled back towards their home. It was easy as breathing, the long fingered hands he had were suited for the task. There was no real time to consider the boon, or the cringing illegality of it as the proper home came up, the gas lights were on, and it looked cheery and inviting. From the door he heard arguing, and knocked, the voices stopped, and after a quick set of steps a young dark man opened the door and blinked down at the boy. 

The boy proffered the paper, and the dark man looked to it. "Yes? Can I help you?" his voice was tinged with a french accent, almost warring with a more oxford, as the boy would learn much later, as one who learned English there. The boy touched his throat, and then mimed writing. "Mute?" he man questioned. 

"Who is it at this hour?" Another said, this one a Spaniard, full of inflections of smugness that usually came with the men. The other swaggered behind the dark man, his arm held tightly in a sling, a few scratches and cuts on his face. 

"A mute, he wants to write something." the dark man said and slowly tracked his eyes down the boys clothes and body. A trail of panic went through him and he shifted. He reached into his simple jacket, and then handed out a small note book and pencil. The boy smiled and quickly wrote down everything he could think of that would net him this strange job from these strange people. 

 _'I am called Raymond, I have no last name, but I found your ad for work in the paper, I know ten languages, though I can not speak them.'_ The dark man looked over to his friend and showed the notebook. 

"Then translate this," the Spaniard spoke quickly in his native tongue. The boy translated it in his head. He knew several Spaniards, probably too many he thought. Getting the notebook handed back he wrote quickly. 

'The greatest fire in hell is burned for those in great moral battles remain neutral to all sides.' he wrote. The two men blinked at the notebook. 

"Not how I would pit it." the Spaniard said. 

"Now, how about this?" the dark man spoke a quick lilting french, smiling to the boy afterwards. He translated it with only a little more difficulty. 

"I'd say the boy knows two." The Spaniard told the other. "What do you think Finn?" Finn, looked him over, then to the boy again. 

"Very well, do you have lodgings?" the boy shook his head. "Ah..." 

"The attic has space for a bed. We can get rid of the old mattress give it to him, then we don't have to pay the men to come take it away." the Spaniard said quickly. Finn frowned, but nodded, the two men lead the boy into the building, the smell of a late dinner floating up into his nose. "Go ahead and eat, you must be hungry." 

"Well have to get the boy a chalkboard for talking." Finn said. "Poe couldn't you have just put an ad in like a normal man?" 

"My dear Finn how dare you ever insult the intellect of our lad here!" Poe called back, the boy couldn't care less as the two men started to bicker and went to eat the meal that was waiting on a small table. Well remains of a meal, it was as substantial as the meat-pie from before, but he could not care less. With the three working, the 'old mattress' better then the boy ever slept on in his life, it was placed in the attic along with thick moth eaten blankets. "We'll have much to discuss tomorrow lad." Poe promised with a smile. The men left, and the boy sighed. Everything happened quickly, and with a quick movement brought his cap off. Running his fingers from the tied down hair, it feel across his head and cheeks. 

Undressing, he stopped at his small clothes, and a thick chest binding. She loosened just a little breathing becoming just a little easier. 'thank god for miracles' she spoke lowly. She swallowed down the last bit of the food, feeling warm and sleepy. The sounds below quieted as everyone turned in for the night. She laid down, listening to the snoring of one of the men, Raymond, or Ray let out a small sob of relief. This was a miracle, falling on her feet on just the first day of getting into London. Just after she left the slight comfort of the small caravan of gypsies, who she was sure knew her true gender, but did not care to reveal it. Allowing her the comfort that it brought. A BOY could travel more freely. A BOY can be unremarked. But a woman? A woman would cause scandal, being a woman alone was dangerous she wasn't an idiot who thought she could get by on her female merit. But a boy, and one that was so disabled? No one cared, and if they did it was with sympathy. Maybe she should try the mute route with her true gender, but that would wait. Wait until she was settled, and not starving. 

Able to know more about this society, and move as the ghost she was. Maybe she could find records of her birth, but that would have to wait, it was there in the back of her mind however. Safely tucked into a corner where she could one day use it. She refused to dwell on the memories that drove her here, those could wait to. Till she could deal with them, if she wanted to. 

* * *

 

Luke breathed in harshly, old Maz frowned over him and shook her head as Luke breathed out. She bit her lip as the old man breathed in again, his clothes rumbled, sweaty, and smelling like the swill of the strongman's personal swill. His eyes were open but did not blink, they were cloudy, hazy and already dead. She knew he was dead, and these were his last breaths. Maz stood, the old 'gypsy seer' patted her shoulder. "When he passes we will bury him." she said. Her heart clenched, in fear and panic. Luke was the only thing that kept her from a few of the others. Taking care of him was her job, and her protection. An unmarried WOMAN had no place other then that what men deemed they wanted. Ever since he started drinking the same strongman had made his moves towards her. He'd be her husband, and she his wife and they could do a glorious act together as they put it. She watched as the corpse finally breathed out, a tiny puff, and was still. Slowly her hand closed his eyes, and she sobbed. 

Quiet was the night, and her mind worked, quickly rolling up with panic laced ideas. Her languishing in a bed screaming, as the child failed to breach for hours, for a full day. Until finally she passed, unable to birth it. It being a dead thing when they tired to save it by cutting up the poor mother. Her thoughts formed into action, and slowly, she moved, slowly as to ensure that no one would be wiser she found Luke's stash. It was well dwindled, but still was more then she had. Just as slowly she took some of his clothes, and changed. After spending the last year changing Luke, bathing him, the so called 'mysteries' of men's clothes weren't much. After stuffing her hair into a cap, she looked out, people were waiting. Talking, SMILING and laughing as Luke passed. She used a single window, and slipped out, putting the shoes around her neck to muffle her steps on the graveled era the tents, and carts were on. 

"Little one." said a low voice making her freeze. Maz, of course it was Maz who had found her. She breathed in, but the old woman mimed silence. She held out a small bag and handed it into her limp hands. "The men may not believe, but I know." Maz smiled to her patting her hands as they tightened around the coin bag. She looked to it then back to the old woman. "Call yourself Raymond, it was my first's name. God rest him." She smiled, Raymond smiled. "This that you seek is before you, always know that." Maz hugged her, and she hugged the old woman back. "Take main road, trust me, you'll come across my cousins, they'll help you." Raymond, Ray, nodded. "Never look back." 

Ray left, quickly running as soon as she passed the perimeter. The main road was far easier to travel quickly then the thick underbrush of the country side. She couldn't trust that they wouldn't come for her, but ran as long as she could. Feet aching and bleeding, with shivering from the early spring she came to the cousins, and they welcomed her. They were good people, she traveled with them until London. Giving them the little money she had, she slipped into the city. As a boy, Ray always went mostly unremarked. Her plan had formed and become clear while traveling with the others. She was going to play as a mute boy, something only worthy of passing pity.


	2. A Silent Scream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ray and the two, head out to solve a case involving a runway girl.

"Thanks for breakfast Amy." Finn told the evident landlady. A woman older then Ray, but nonetheless a spinster. Perhaps it had to do with her more frail appearance, or something else. But a whole breakfast of strong tea, toast, and some sausages. Ray ate carefully, still frowning over her state. She only had a single change of clothes for boys, but as the two men looked her over Poe motioned to Amy. "Do you still have some old clothes for the boy?" he asked. The woman looked to her, eyeing Ray with a critical eye. 

"I believe we have some that might fit you." Ray swallowed, panic etching up a little as the older woman pulled her into a small storage room. From some woody smelling dresser she pulled out some old, and somewhat poorly patched suit of clothes. "Here dear. Go and get clean. There should be hot water heated for the bath." Given the go ahead, and with a thankfully lockable bathing room, Ray pulled off all the old clothes, and unwound the long strips she had been able to use to bind down her chest further. Not that she truly needed it, her bosom wasn't as substantial as the land lady or the other girls she knew. This bathroom was tiled in white tiles and held a sort of blank numbness in color. The only sources being the off white of towels, and the brass feet of the tub. There was a shower, tucked in with the tub in a small sort of 'room' with the shower head and various soaps. 

Ray quickly poured hot water into the tub, hissing at the heat, but scrubbing frantically at all the built up dirt grease, and wear. The water was a cloudy grey when she was done, and she felt a thousand times better as she drained the tub, and frantically cleaned it as well. Leaving the tub more clean then when she started and leaving the two men to follow her into the room in small clothes. The land lady was busy washing the breakfast away and Ray quickly joined her. "Such a good boy." the Landlady praised. Ray smiled to her, and she pressed a sweet to Ray once they were done. 

Ray frowned in the main room waiting for the two men to come back out and tell her what to do, she found some books out in the open and among the clutter of the room that she didn't notice before. Full of dark wood with the curtains drawn out and to the morning light the cluttered room looked more of a dreary business then anything else. With a sofa of black wood and dark red cushions, a few chairs of that same dark wood and various other colored cushions. A long low table with a few books of various titles. Looking like light reads rather then anything for study. The ceiling was tall, with a simple chandelier of metal wire with gas lights unglowing and off for the daylight. Instead of art or paintings on the wall were snippets of paper, sometimes framed and sometimes not, each one framed was of a success of 'two detectives' and ones that were not were all in one place and appeared to be various crimes. 

Heading to the wall of the unframed snippets Ray looked over the paper, hat falling a little off her head as she leaned over. Tucking it back in she frowned. Most of them were about murders, or attempted murders of various nobility. From the Brits, to Spain, to even a tsarina of Russia. All of these appeared to be a tableau towards one group, or man who wanted to rid the world of royalty. The various notes tacked on with the papers said that much. At the top of various people, only two newsprint portraits for this group, was the name 'Kylo Ren' it was odd enough for her to jump when one of the men cleared his throat. "Sorry." Finn said. "Looks like your interested in the Knights of Ren." Ray frowned at him. Finn rubbed the back of his head. 

"I am Finnegan Watson. Pleasure to meet you Raymond." Finn, held out his hand and shook hers. Clothed as a upmost gentleman Finn cut a sharp figure that left her a little intimidated. Ray mimed her hands closer together hoping he would understand that she didn't want to be called Raymond all the time. "Prefer the short name?" She nodded frantically. Part of her rankled a bit at the name, Ray was more neutral to her. "Very well Ray. This is the main case we are working on. Though we take other cases." Finn motioned to the wall of papers and settled down on the edge of one sofa. "Have you experience in fighting?" Ray thought a moment. 

In the circus, she had been an all around dogs body. Doing everything she could do, and everything Luke had whispered to her in the later few times he was sober, to make her less attractive. One of the things was keeping a watch on the two Chinese men who 'fought' each other for an act. Watching their delicate dances of fighting. One, Qui Jinn actually began to teach her. So she nodded slowly. "good, guns?" Ray shook her head. That was one thing she wasn't allowed near. The same two men, did an act where Qui, caught a bullet. That was more dangerous then anything else, the way he distanced himself from all the other 'catching' acts was to be stripped down bare chested, and down to his small clothes. Showing he 'truly' caught the bullet. Rather then sneaking it in his clothes. 

"How many languages do you know?" Finn asked her. She mimed writing, and he quickly handed her a small book with the pencil from before. The fourteen Spaniards who did a sort of tumbling and acrobatic act taught her Spanish, the two french women who were 'with' them and did a quasi ballerina act taught her french, and there was Qui, and Ken, who taught her Chinese. The seven gypsies, who did all the mystical acts who taught her Romany, along with Russian, Turkish, and a little Indian. The single Arabic man who was the sole 'freak show' man. Tall as a house, who could probably reach the ceiling if he reached up, taught her very little Arabic, and was one of the men who wanted her for a wife. The strongman, and the clowns, were all the Englishmen. She wrote all these down, and bowed to him handing the notebook back to him. 

"Very good! This is great where do you come from?" Ray breathed in and looked down. "From these languages... I would guess a trope, you broke off with them?" Ray looked back up at Finn, nodding slowly. "Anywhere else?" Finn asked. Ray shook her head and Finn stood, holding out the notebook to her. "Keep this, we will need to keep talking. Right now there is a small case of a missing girl. A merchants child. She might be with my countrymen in France. Seduced by a french merchant of course." Finn smiled to her and Ray shifted a little.

"A good british woman and a Frenchman? The scandal!" Poe commented coming in with a bit of a laugh. "But nonetheless, we have to find the girl and bring her home." Poe's charismatic smile made her uncomfortable, not to mention his intense look over her. "Did I hear you were from a circus? For how long?" Ray swallowed. Holding up three fingers. "Three years?" she nodded. "How old are you boy?" she panicked holding the notebook in her hands nearly crushing it. 

"Leave the boy alone!" Amy called coming into the room. She carried a small satchel. "Can't you see he is nervous? Leave him be and let him tell you want he likes himself." She smiled to Ray and handed the satchel over to Finn. "It could very well be his first time in such a city!" 

"Yes nanny." Poe said nodding to the woman. Poe turned to Ray and bowed lightly. "I apologize Raymond it was?" Ray nodded. "Good, now we shall get to business. We will have to ensure the girl is no longer in the city before we leave for France." He began leaving Ray's head to swirl to catch up. "You will be a good boy and carry the things?" Finn handed the satchel to her, and she nodded. "Very good. Hopefully the girl shall put up no fight. Or the man for that matter." Poe chuckled to himself. 

"What a thing to say, you are vile! The poor girl might have lost herself to the whims of a SADE!" Amy scolded him. 

"I doubt that nanny. Come we have many things to do. Try to keep up boy." Ray nodded to Amy as they left, her panic subsiding. No one was one the wiser, and hopefully they never would be. Much later maybe, if she could, she could become like Amy. Perhaps, given enough time, and hopefully without a single person discovering her ruse. But as they called a handsom, the cabby didn't even look to her as she sat by the two men, and one very old gentleman in the cab. No one seemed to care, as she watched the city through the window of the cab. Men, women, children all walked in various forms of life. Dogs barked, horses made noises, and the general rabble of people eased down her anxiety. She needed to ensure she looked the part, but also acted the part. That would be a lot easier when she could observe thousands of young and old men without passing much notice, with all the people around, and not in a small closeknit place, she could go more unremarked. Just a tiny little oddity perhaps. 

* * *

 

Ray nodded to the how Poe described 'tawdry' dressed woman. She spoke romany, and smoked a long pipe, the woman looked over Ray and blinked a few times as she spoke. They had chosen someone who spent most of her time on street corners. Ray could only blush as to why. _"Oh the lass you are talking about? You have her portrait? I think my cousin Sam might have helped her out of her home."_ Ray presented the woman the small palm sized picture of the girl. _"Yes that is the one, I never saw her,"_ Ray scowled. _"But from the way Sam talked of her he himself was smitten."_ Ray looked down at the portrait, it looked like every other girl to her. _"But you will want to talk to Sam, a girl like that will never look at us, she wanted that frenchman. From what I know she is still in town."_

Ray wrote down the information, quickly handing it to the two men. _"Lass, you better be careful, some men do not like it when women do this." she told Ray. "They put us in houses for insane people. My sister is there, and her only crime wasn't speaking the kings english._ " Ray swallowed. "That's about all boys." Finn and Poe looked to her then back to Ray. The woman left with a bit of a swagger, as Ray put the picture of the lost girl into the bag that she was carrying. Finn handed her notebook back. 

"Well, that was a bit useless. But at least we know she is still in the city." Finn said. 

"As far as that woman knows." Poe countered. Ray put her notebook into her coat pocket, and hiked up the bag onto her shoulder. "Sam it was? How will we find a gypsy named SAM?" Poe sighed. Ray shrugged, and started moving. "Where are you going?" Ray stalled and pointed in the direction of the woman. 

"Do you intend on finding Sam?" Finn asked. Ray nodded. "OH! Poe, you and I should then check the hotels! Here, give me the bag. You will be faster unencumbered. We will see if the girl or merchant has checked in." Ray held out the bag to him. 

"And if they both are in a boarding house? There are already nearly a hundred, we will be at this all day." Poe replied. "Perhaps if we knew the mans NAME, but he used a false one." Finn frowned. 

"You take care of yourself Ray, meet up at the Mitre at lunch." Finn told her. Ray nodded and smiled, Finn brought out a few coins and handed them to her. "I keep all the books, Poe likes to bet on slow horses if you get hungry get yourself some food at a..." he grimaced. "Reputable place. Wouldn't want to eat dog now would you?" Ray bowed in half to him as Finn touched her shoulder. "Go on now. Be sure to find the man!" Ray darted away from him stuffing the coins into a deep pocket, as she went through the gathered crowds of various people. Not a few streets over was a market, with more arguing people, and the smell and scent of fish, along with the stench of sea. She ignored everyone instead heading towards a even more busy street still listening to the voices, trying to pick out information snippets she wanted. 

Full of small shops of various kinds Ray slipped into an alley and breathed out there. With all the people there, and the various chatting voices in various tongues, and dialects, some of which felt like distant memories, she shivered. A man in the alley moaned as he huddled against the brick wall, and a few rats squeaked around him. She slipped back into the crowd and headed towards the sounds of Romany. A few men were arguing over a stall held by a Chinese man, over some bolts of silk. That boggled her mind, the colors and shine of the material. It was almost like a tapestry, work with its colors and threads. _"No no no, you don't seem to understand."_ One spoke. _"this girl is in trouble."_ Ray perked her head up, and looked to stall owner as she resisted the urge to touch the material. _"I only helped her out, the bobbies, they were on the move so I had to run."_ maybe it was luck that brought her to find this man, or the divine had of God. 

_"They wouldn't arrest you for being near a woman."_ said his friend. 

_"No, but it would be keenly suspicious and I could tarnish her!"_ 'Sam' retorted. The two men started moving and Ray stalled just continuing to stare at the silk before following the two men. _"Surely she is in trouble. Trying to run from her family! She was so desperate to flee!"_ Ray passed by them and veered towards a small vendor who was selling some pastries. She bought one getting the change back and tossing it to one of the beggars, who was making a sort of droning song with a 'hurdy-gurdy' device. She had seen several at work in the circus. 

"Bless you lad." he told her before she slowly chewed on the pastry still following the two men. They glanced to her, but only in passing. 

_"You don't think to FIND her do you?"_ Sam's friend asked him. _"Why on earth would you want to? Obviously she ran and has gotten away."_  

_"I just found out those two were put on the case! Watson and Holmes, they will find her and might force her back! We can take care of her, I'll send to her my mother, she is near the France border. She can travel with our cousins."_ Ray fell back away from them, and frowned finishing the pastry. She let them pass trying to get her mind to work. So this girl, Ray never heard her name just yet, was running from her family. Sam just wanted to help her, and seemed to care more for the girl then her own father. From the way some spoke, the father cared more the scandal of the girl leaving. 

Ray moved through the crowd, and through the city quickly. Just listening to the various people, no one really batted an eye at her. She spent a long time just listening to gossip, and keeping it in her head. From scandals to people putting plaster in bread to lengthen the flour, Ray just paid attention. IF she lucked by 'Sam' then perhaps she might be able to find out more, but Luck wasn't exactly with her as it started to get to midday. She quickly headed out towards the place Finn mentioned, buying a paper, along the way. Finn met her outside and pulled her into the building quickly settling her down to eat. "We didn't find a thing Ray. There are so many boarding homes and all the hotels know nothing of a woman coming in without escort." He told her. Ray swallowed wondering if she should tell them about 'Sam'. 

"Did you find this Sam?" Poe asked directly. "I can see your nervous, why?" Ray pulled out her notebook and quickly wrote down a few things. Deciding to leave out her thoughts on the matter of WHY the girl could be leaving.

'found Sam, he was a good man, wanted to help the girl' Poe just scowled at it as he read. 'he said he thought she was running from her family' Poe scoffed, as a waiter quickly gave them some drinks. 

"Running from a marriage, typical girlish things." Poe commented. "Get the boy some food, he must be hungry." Ray was but took her notebook back. "Her father arranged to a much older man. She obviously does not want is good for her." Finn frowned to Poe as he placed the order for food for the three of them. Ray shifted a little, ignoring the comments from Poe. 

"He could be a horrid man Poe." Finn replied. Poe just dismissed it. 

"Does it matter? It is a woman's place." Finn sighed. 

"That you are right, but a woman should not fear reprisal in men for naught that they can control." Ray decided to ignore the two. It left her uncomfortable, and left her only knowing that her decision to play as a man was the correct thing. As a woman alone, she'd be treated more like a a horrible creature then a stray dog. A whore basically. Eating was quick business and Ray kept one of the hot sausage rolls placing it into a pocket around one of the napkins on the table. 

"So what do we do now? The girl can be out of the city now." Poe said. 

"I do not think so Poe, she'd not want to leave comfort." Finn replied quickly as they exited. Ray took the bag from Finn as he idly handed it to her. "We should go to the upper-class borders. One of them might be hiding her." Poe nodded. 

"Very well, perhaps we will find the french merchant as well." Poe replied. The rest of the day was utterly uneventful. The few places that the men visited were completely either well hushed, or didn't know the girl at all. At home now as the light faded down they were eating dinner and discussing how many hotels and boarding houses could be left for a 'rich' girl to use. Ray frowned as the men talked over the remains of dinner, gathering up the dishes, and cups to wash for the land Lady. It was the nice thing to do, and she wanted to make herself an ASSET, someone who'd they want to ensure to want to keep. Amy smiled to her again, as she helped her complete the last of the dishes, scrubbing the dinner pots with a wire brush. Another sweet was pressed on her, and she accepted it with a tiny bow that made Amy giggle. 

After smoking, going to a side room that Ray refused to go near, they went to bed. Ray however slipped out of the apartment, carefully lowering herself out from the attic window, down the gutter and into the streets at night. There was still noise, and still people about. But far far less people now she was careful not to draw attention. The docks were still busy, and likely would never not be, but as she had walked through the city and learned some of its routes she had noted that several of the Chinese shops held just fronts and people went in, and did not come out. So now she slipped to the area, only lightly busy with a few late night people. Several men were going around lighting lamps now, as the sun faded down fully. Ray slipped into alleys just in-between the so called shops listening carefully to the various chatter. 

Most of the Chinese people talking were just gossiping, and talking about the day, but she caught several talking about opium. Not something she cared for, still listening she barely noticed the two men lumbering towards her. "Look a poor lad. Care to donate to the veterans?" asked one. Ray looked up at him breath hitching a little. She patted her neck, and the mans slim buddy froze just before circling towards her. 

"Aw, come on Dredge, the boys mute." The larger man grunted, and punched her in the stomach so fast all she could do was gasp. Pain lanced up her, but she kept her lips firmly shut. "SEE? Leave the lad alone! Sorrry lad!" His buddy pulled the man away as she leaned against a warm brick wall. The air had started to get saturated with the stench of peoples waste as the sun finally set, and all light that was there was from the gas lamps. Keeping her food down was simple as she breathed out and in letting the pain pass. It tingled into her nerves, and felt a success. Any doubt in her head of her ability to keep the rouse of keeping silent was assured. After that she went into another alley and listened to the quiet speaking of two girls in Chinese. 

_"We can't keep her here, they will come looking for her eventually!"_ one said. 

_"We have to! Her father wants her to marry that beast! Three girls have gone missing when he went to them!"_ the other responded. Ray smiled, having found her quarry. She stayed still listening. 

"Please, I don't understand what you are saying!" said a British girl. "Don't, please don't leave me here. I can't, I can't go back!" Ray grimaced. 

"I understand ma'am, but you endanger us." said a accented girls voice. 

"I won't be long, Lucien is coming for me! I know he will! Just another day! I swear!" the two Chinese girls went to arguing over it was safe again. They settled on allowing it, and Ray lumbered up from the wall. 

"We will keep you, but only for one more day." the one who might be the only English speaker said. Ray looked at the front that the three were in. A tiny 'Chinese herbalist' building that had high walls of various drawers and racks of decorative glass bottles. Adverts for various cures were in the window in white paint along the glass front. Claiming to 'cure' various aliments including pox. A small man, looking like the oldest man in the world sat tending to his shop still open even at this hour. Ray slipped inside and he smiled to her motioning her in. 

"IN IN, what you need?" he asked. Running his eyes over her he froze, and then took a step back. Straightening, his long pony tail swaying a little from the top of his cap he bowed to her. "Ma'am?" he asked. 

_"Please, I... I need something, if you have it."_ the Chinese words she stumbled over. Not having a chance to speak them for a very long time. The little man nodded a bright smile taking his face. 

_"You speak it fairly well! Come now, what do you need? Such a ruse? Why?"_ Ray breathed out. 

_"My moon time, it is coming soon, and they are always difficult. Do you have something to ease it?"_ she had to pause several times to search for the word in her head that she could use. He smiled to her, and quickly ran about the shop, ladders along rails rolling smoothly and quietly. Ray heard some steps from the apartment up the stairs but only could hear muffled voices. 

_"Yes yes, I have good things. Nothing to dumb yourself?"_ he questioned. 

_"NO! Never!"_ she replied quickly, he gave her a strange look. _"OH! No, I do not require anything of that. Just a tea please."_

_"As for your hiding? Why?"_ He quickly had a pile of herbs that he dunked into a motor and pestle. In the circus it was Maz she went to, and she always lamented that the Chinese could do so much better. 

_"I came to this town alone, a woman alone is very remarked upon."_ she answered carefully. _"I only seek to find comfort, and once I can find... a man who cares not of this, then I shall marry. I can not chance being tarnished by... whoredom."_ The man listened nodding his head as he ground down the herbs, and started putting them into pellets. 

_"I understand, many british men assume all my peoples girls are as such. There is so much abuse they level at them. All they wish is to live. My daughters are good women, they seek husbands to live. Once perhaps my son is done with schooling we shall go back home to marry well there."_

_"Thank you for your understanding."_ she replied smiling to him. The ache from the punch finally faded to nothing as the man gave her the tiny tea pills. She handed him over the payment he asked for having little left over for it. He quickly detailed how to take it, once cup with every meal, and to never drink it without a meal. 

"Come back to here, for schooling of the tongue. You are good, but be better." he told her in English. Ray smiled to him and nodded to the young Chinese girl that came down the steps. "The girl? Is she going?" he asked. 

"No father, she stays, for one day. She needs food and refuses to eat our meal." the girl responded. She looked to Ray and bowed, Ray bowed back leaving the shop heading back to her new home. Settling the pill tea into her inner coat pocket as she listened to more people. Maybe Poe and Finn could have found the girl eventually, but Rey chewed on the thought of telling them she sought out the girl. Not only sought her out, but found her and the name of the french merchant. Or at least another name he used to... Ray paused. Used to what? Lure the girl to his bed? Lure her away from her family? Ray decided on not telling them where the girl was currently, but only the name she heard from the girls lips. She didn't exactly want to even say the name of the merchant or tell of it, it left a sour taste inside of her. 

Not able to think of rest, instead she moved about the city, mostly observing, but also seeing where she could possibly go to learn more languages. There was near the dock several Indian sailors who came often with the Chinese who shipped teas and other wares. A small dock near there held dozens of craftsmen who all were in the process of making fake Egyptian goods some of those were Arabic men, it wasn't until her feet ached, and she felt starved and weak that she went back to the apartment in the early gray hours of morning to settle down for a few moments in rest.

* * *

 "The lad was out all night." Poe said as Ray helped Amy make breakfast. She ignored him keeping her face in a small smile to Amy as the woman passed her sweets again for the help. 

"He can go out Poe." Finn snapped, and looked over a fresh newspaper. 

"Perhaps he is up to something?" Finn sighed, as Ray and Amy settled the meal down in the small dinning room that could settle perhaps five people. Ray had already written a note and settled it on Poe's plate. Slowly the man took it and read it over eyes blinking as he looked to her. 

"Did you now?" he asked. 

"Did he what?" Finn took the note. 'I went out to find the merchant, I heard a name he used 'Lucien' I am unsure if this will help. I heard it from two women of the night who were put out by him and talking about the merchant girl.' she wrote. Finn looked to her and smiled brightly. "That is brilliant! This should help us greatly Ray!" she smiled back to him. She felt giddy even as Poe frowned. 

"It is likely a false name. Spoken only by women of low caste." Poe commented, and got a scowl from Finn. "But we will look into it." Ray nodded tucking into the hearty breakfast that Amy had put in front of her. Much more hearty then the other twos meal. Keeping an eye on Poe and Finn as they ate in order to have more proper manners. Poe looked at her, and slowly ate with a tiny wink to her. She copied his moves as she straightened her back like the two men eating not exactly dainty, but cleanly. 

"Along the way to the docks we'll have you fitted better clothes lad." Finn told her, and she swallowed. 

"I think he might just prefer more factory clothes. We'll visit a shop and can get him several." Poe replied, and she let out a breath of relief nodding to Poe. "See? Go on lad, go get clean. We've already done our share of bathing." Ray nodded pushing her chair out with a bow of her head. Amy handed her over a set of clothes, these less patched then the ones she wore now and much more clean. 

Quickly heading out Ray shivered a little as a fog descended through the town, leaving her to blow on her hands to keep them from shaking. She had little fat and only wiry muscle to keep her warm. The two men pulled her into a shop that was full of already made clothes, quickly sizing her up and getting her around four different sets of clothes along with a thicker coat and a thinner one that she put on now. The rest were packaged and sent with a young boy to the apartment. Leaving Ray to sigh in relief as her ruse was not discovered at all. Poe cast a glance at her and then to Finn. 

"Lad, are you a evirato?" Poe asked her. Finn froze midstep and looked back at the two. 

"THAT-" Finn began sharply getting a few looks. "That is hardly a polite thing to ask!" he finished. Poe blinked from him to her. 

"It is just a simple question. It is a barbaric practice, if the lad is one, we must keep him safe from the vile creatures who harmed him." Ray didn't know exactly what they were talking about the term had never come up in her life before. Panic laced into her system, and Poe grabbed her shoulder. "Its okay lad, its no fault of your own." His voice was sympathetic and he gave her shoulder a light squeeze. 

"Ray, there is no shame in not having that part of yourself. The shame is who did it to you." Ray blinked at Finn still in shock. "Come now, lets go and get off this topic. We have a girl to find." 


	3. A bird in the Hand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finn, Poe, and Ray head to a old man who the two men are very wary of, and Ray

Ray flipped off the gas stove as Amy settled the meal onto the trays. In the other room Poe and Finn were arguing about where exactly they should go to find Lucien. Helping Amy she settled the meal down near the two and passed the sweet to Ray. She had a small hoard of them now, it wasn't though she wanted them. However, Ray was going to pass them out to the children around the docks. They would know a lot and be everywhere as most people don't think twice about the children running about doing odd jobs. Or, she swallowed down some black coffee as the two settled on heading towards someone, that both seemed they didn't want to go to. They kept glancing towards her, and she felt a nervous tension grow inside of her. 

"Raymond a word please?" Poe asked, Ray nodded and moved towards him, he sighed. 

"We really don't have a choice here." Finn said lowly. Ray swallowed down and stared down at Poe. 

"There is a man we must go to named Cody Tyrus. He is... well he owns the docks suffice to say." Ray nodded settling down and taking a crumpet into her hands and taking a few bites of it. She glanced at a jar of jam, and decided to forgo it for the time. Jam to her was another luxury, something she only got on Sundays. Poe frowned putting his good arm to his face. "He could know of our french merchant. We would need to find him but the two of us ran afowl of him before." 

"He swore to cut us in half." Finn told her. Ray straightened looking down at the eggs and bacon and wondering if she felt well enough to eat them with that revelation. She decided yes and settled on eating as the two men took their time in trying to think of a way to ask her to do something. 

"You aren't going to be known to him. If we wish to get this girl back to her family then we will require his help." Poe told her. Ray nodded, breakfast finished, and laying a bit heavily in her stomach. "I doubt he would harm anyone, least of all you. But we will follow just in case." Ray nodded. "Keep in mind this man... he is not like other men. He is ruthless and you must not offend him. We will go get you a bit of chalkboard and some chalk to carry along the way there. Try to steer the conversation towards our girl Ayah or this Lucien. Say that you were left here in the city by him, that should help. You act upset, but want to get work. Cody should perhaps take pity on you, and want to hire you." Ray nodded. 

"Don't worry to much, while he may be scary, Cody is a man of honor. If you make it into his home he will not hurt you, I promise you that." Finn told her. Ray nodded as the two stood up and started getting ready to go out on the town. Ray quickly followed suit, grabbing a thick coat as the fog was settling in thicker then before. The smell of it was that of coal fires which thankfully would suppress the smell of the rivers as they walked to a place where hansom cabs were waiting for patrons. She had little time to debate on what was about to happen as Finn and Poe stopped at a small bookshop getting her a tiny slate, and chalk. Another stop, and it was now around her neck on a bit of rope, with them shoving her towards a far richer part of town then she had seen before. A bit of scrap paper with the address was all she had to head towards this Cody. 

Hopefully Finn and Poe were behind her somewhere as she slowly edged towards the home. Getting to it she blinked, wedged between two extravagant homes was a more tiny sort of place. Compared to the two sprawling mansions beside it this home was only two stories and in a L shape to it. With a wrote iron fence that had crawling vines all along it that held just budding flowers. Two large trees sat on the front shading the front of the home, along with low bushes of various kinds. Just behind the Fence were quite a lot of V-shaped plant leaves, along the thick grass that held the rest. In the shade of both trees were swings, one with a little girl reading a book. Keeping watch on the girl was an elderly woman who was also going through and watering the plants. This street wasn't as busy as the rest of the town, however several rich ladies and young men were getting ready it looked like to head further into town probably shopping. 

The old woman perked up, and glanced to Ray eyes wide, the little girl looked up a moment later, and then went back to her book. The older woman went to the door, opening it and speaking in a language unknown to Ray as she glanced towards the gate. Ray pulled out her chalk and wrote down 'I am looking for Cody Tyrus' on it, frowning as she added in 'for a job' in the margins. Ray froze when one of the men from before, the man who punched her in the stomach, stepped out and walked towards her. He glared down at her without even looking like he recognized her, but only for a moment as she held up the slate. Dredge glared down at her, as the other guy walked out and blinked to her, and then to the slate. 

"You're that lad! The mute one, how exactly did you hear of my boss little lad?" the guy asked her. Ray opened her mouth and frowned, wiping off the slate. 

'A man called Lucien told me, and said I could find work here.' she wrote, Dredge's eyes went wide and he stepped back away from her. The skinny guy, opened the gate and grabbed her arm pulling her in through the gate. 

"WIPE THAT OFF." Ray did as she was told. "Lucien is dangerous, quickly." He dragged her into the home, as Dredge stayed outside looking like a man scared to death. Ray could only allow the skinnier man to take her into the home and settle her down into a short waiting area. Inside the home wasn't as cluttered at Finn and Poe's home. The more open space felt a lot less cloistering to her, allowing her to breath at the tension building into her. "Stay here, I'll go get my master. DO you need food lad?" She shook her head. "Sorry about Dredge, he's a bit simple. You were in our way." Ray nodded. He left her there, going further into the home. It was mostly silent in the home, the only noises from outside people. After a long time she heard two sets of steps walk down slowly towards her, the skinnier man helped a old looking man down a set of stairs. 

His skin was a sort of orange color, and weathered like old leather. His hair was a thick white and very long, tied back into two trails that went over the front of his shoulders. He wasn't dressed for the day wearing long gray robes and slippers as he walked to her. Ray stood as he sat down in a opposite chair to her, a small table in front of them. "Tea, or coffee?" the old man asked, voice just as old as he looked. She bit her lip and wrote down tea as he nodded. His accent was indeterminate at this age and she didn't know where he might be from. "Get to it Marcus." the old man said. The skinny man nodded before leaving her with this old man that must be Cody. "He has told me that you were with a Lucien?" she nodded to him as he tracked his eyes over her. "I do not suggest going near this man again. He is a dangerous man." Straightening she took a breath in and let it out slowly. 

'I met him after I met your men.' she wrote. 'I am looking for him, he said he had work for me.' Cody looked to the sign then back to her. She froze still from the look, feeling trapped. 

"Lad," Cody began and silenced himself as Marcus came back in setting the tea down, and spoke quickly to him. "Ah, I see, invite them to dinner." Ray gaped to him trying to keep her face still instead of the nervous tension she felt. "Your friends, Holmes and Watson I assume?" She blinked, then nodded slowly. "They needn't deal with this matter in such a way." 

'I am sorry.' she wrote. Cody smiled and motioned to the tea. She drank it straight with no sugar, opting instead to be more mindful of the sweet things. 'Lucien is tied with a...' he hand froze on the slate as she wrote. 'missing girl.' she finished showing him. 

"Missing? Or hidden?" Cody asked her. Ray opened her mouth. "My men took her to a herbalist I go to, he has two daughters and can take care of her. She came to me to find Lucien, however I sent her to them with my men. I assume, you met my men there." Ray nodded and stared down at the table. "Why did you not tell your employers where she was at?" 

'I don't know.' she told him. Cody nodded taking a cup for himself and sipping it. 'She sounded so scared.' he nodded again. 

"Her father is a vile man. What he does should not be repeated in polite company. I would prefer to offer her my home, but I have others here. Lucien seeks her, and I will not have a tiger in place of a wolf." Ray just stared at him in confusion. 

"Sir?" she said softly, Cody made a noise looking to her. "Please, What is going on? Where is this man?" He set the cup down and leaned towards her, scrutinizing her even further to the point she shifted uncomfortably. 

"Lad it was?" Ray bit her lip painfully. "I assure you, it is nothing that you want to deal with or know." he leaned back drinking his cup. "Come back here once a week." Ray stared at him in more confusion. "I will train you." 

"S-sir?" Cody smiled to her and held out his hand, she took it warily. 

"You do good hiding, but you need help. I will be that. I could use an errand, _boy_ , to do jobs for me." the way he spoke boy made her stand up. "My man, Marcus, he will get the date for your teaching set up. I will see you at the dinner tonight." Ray opened and closed her mouth then nodded. "Good." Marcus came back in guiding her out of the home and handed her a bit of paper. 

"See you soon lad." Marcus smiled to her, as she was ushered out of the yard. The girl was still playing, this time using Dredge's arm as swing happily giggling. Ray left the home heading out towards where Poe and Finn stood waiting or her, in a fairly obvious place. Two policemen actually stood by them chatting about this case.

'I did not get information on Lucien.' Ray wrote wiping the message down at they read it. 'This man you told me to go to seems scared of him.' Poe and Finn exchanged glances as she wiped the slate clean. 

"Well that appears to be a dead end. We'll have to go to the docks." Poe said and nodded to the officers as they left the area in its entirely. The two officers staying behind and waving the group off. 

"One of Cody's men called the officers, made us stand there waiting for you." Finn told her. "Poe if what Ray says is right, do you think it is WISE to continue this?" 

"Nonsense. I haven't lost a case yet!" Poe waved over a hansom and they piled in, heading towards the docks at a higher speed. Finn sighed, and from his coat pulled out a small revolver going over it and placing bullets into it. Ray shifted uncomfortably in the interior. "Don't worry Ray, I'm sure its nothing." She wasn't exactly convinced, but followed them out into the smell of fish, people, and the sea. Several young boys that looked more in place then some of the adults ran around carrying things, and doing odd jobs. She slipped away from Finn and Poe as they walked towards one of the richer looking vessel. In a group of kids who were resting and smoking she pulled out the sweets she had gotten in her pockets and handed them out. First they were fairly wary as but all it took as eating one and they descended on her.  

"Thanks!" Ray wrote down something quickly. 

'I am looking for Lucien a Frenchman, dangerous.' she wrote and showed it to all the children around her. One of them spit out chewing tobacco, wiping the back of his hand over the dibbles over his mouth. 

"Yea, I know 'im, 'e's docked wiv da Sil'Va Mahrne." he told her. "Ratbag kic'ked me off sip. Wan'ter go ter 'Merica an' 'e sad 'e'd take me." Ray smiled to the kid. "Not loik'eng me loiking abaht 'is rum. Bhas'dard. Yea good nuff?" Ray nodded to him. "Run off ya to?" he asked. Ray grimaced and nodded to him. "Kik 'em da balls fer me?" 

'Yes I will.' she wrote down. The kids dispersed, quickly leaving as another ship was pulled into the harbor. She found Finn and Poe having a utterly useless conversation with a man speaking very fast Arabic. They looked to her with a scowl, and the man immediately left the two as they turned to her. 

"Where did you go?!" Finn asked Ray wrote down what she learned and smiled holding it out to him. Finn snapped his jaw shut and Poe actually chuckled. 

"The kids?" Poe asked. Ray nodded. "They never liked me." Ray wiped off the message. 

'I gave them the sweets Ms. Amy gave me.' she wrote and Poe made a noise. Finn sighed. 

"Well, lets get to Lucien." Finn quickly checked the gun, "Poe, stay behind me. Ray I'll need you as back up, stick close." Ray nodded. The three head down, the docks looking for the ship, it was a light vessel made more for speed then carrying cargo. With a engine attachment being fitted to it in a dry dock. Several people were removing various sea creatures that had found a home in the wooden sides. Its logo, in iron letters sat Silver Mourne that were being repainted with shiny silver paint. They carefully edged around the crew members heading towards the overseer's room. It hung along the edge of the large dry dock along metal walk ways among the rafters. Finn held his gun under his coat as they walked up and stalled just on the outside hearing quickly and harshly spoken Romany. 

"This isn't exactly easy. She ran from her home the moment she had the chance. It serves to make things annoying." the man said, his voice gravelly. "I would need to get to her, thankfully I know ex-..actly where she is." he paused and Finn kicked the door through drawing the weapon as Poe ducked down both behind him and Ray. Lucien, what had to be him was sitting down and speaking to one frail looking lady who was on a telegraph line clicking away. She made a few other clicks, as everyone stayed still. 

"Where is Violet?" Finn asked Lucien, Ray held up her hands looking down at several people now looking up at her, and some where now slowly coming towards them all. She prepared herself for more violence than she ever seen just yet. Something like a thrill ran up her spine, and her stomach flopped happily in her stomach. Ray shuddered, and glanced back to Finn, and the man they had sought. Lucien looked like a ship's captain that would pilot the richest of ships. Long dark brown hair framed only a little weather beaten face and even darker eyes. He wore a white shirt with starched collar that sat on his long looking neck. He was behind a simple table and behind him was a coat rack holding a thick bridge coat, and a top hat. Even sitting he sat imposing and uncaring that there was a gun pointed at him, with a clean shaven face with side burns going down ending just above his jaw. 

What was imposing was not the same reason why Dredge was imposing. Lucien had a sort of arm that ended in a metal claw, the area it attached to his right hand was hidden with the shirt, but the end was a iron looking hand that ended in finely articulated looking fingers and joints. A pair of pure white gloves with gold buttons resting beside them was on the desk, his other hand, the one that didn't end in iron claws rested under the table on the desk. Ray looked to Finn, then to the woman stalling her clicking looking just as calm as Lucien as she turned to him and nodded. "Holmes, and Watson I assume?" Lucien said calmly in a dark and unaccented English. "And a new one?" 

"None of your business man, the girl! Now man!" Lucien leaned back, lifting up a small double barrel gun and rested it on top of the table. Finn took a breath in, looking to her, then to Poe, he lowered the gun down harmlessly at the ground. 

"Better?" Lucien questioned, Finn scowled as the others now ganged up on the walkway. One of them held a long rifle, just barely about to jab Poe in the shoulder. Ray moved quickly, the walkway could only hold two people at most, she kicked the man between the legs, at the same time knocking the rifle to the side. She grabbed the end as the man crumbled, hands loosening on the gun, she kicked his knee. Driving him down quickly hiking the gun to her shoulder and pointed it at the others putting herself between Poe and these men. They stopped holding up their hands as the man she attacked hissed in pain on the walk preventing anyone else from walking any further. It sent that same thrill through her making her shiver as she glanced down to the man hissing in pain. 

"I think we can ask the same unless you want your men to be dead." Poe stated. Ray kept her back to all the the ones behind her, to ensure none of these men could hurt anyone one. "Lucien it was?" he asked. The man made a noise behind her. 

"Yes that is my name." he said. "Do you assume I care for those men?" Ray still didn't chance looking back. 

"Their deaths, and ours will be hard to explain to your lady and the police." Finn told him. 

"Not as much as you think." Lucien said, Ray chanced a glance back, Finn had rose the gun back up to point at Lucien. "This is about the girl?" 

"YES! Where did you take her?" Poe demanded quickly. 

"I haven't got her." Silence descended down and she looked back to the men, the one she beat recovered pushing himself up glaring to her. "Why would you two care? She wants to be free from her father." 

"And be used as nothing more then a toy by a man who thinks himself her savior? Tell me, did you take her virtue?" Poe demanded. Ray looked back again Lucien grimaced, at him. "Or did you actually care about the girl?" She looked back to the men, and steadied the rifle at the men waiting. 

"You have no idea about why she would want to run do you?" Lucien questioned back. "Leave now and none of you will be harmed." 

"Poe, we should leave." Finn told him. Poe groaned. 

"Very well, I will see you-" Poe was cut off as a woman yelled out. 

"LUCIEN?!" the girl, the missing one, Violet yelled out. Ray watched as the young woman ran up one set of stairs and onto the walkway. The men moved away until she came face to face with Ray, looking to what was behind. She looked completely undeterred by the tense situation she had found herself in, but stopped in front of Ray's gun. Dressed just more simply then any other girl she had seen, Violet looked like she hadn't slept in days. There was a jittery sort of energy to the young woman, and obvious desperation to her stance. "I'm saved, yes." she breathed out, and only then seemed to actually see Poe and then Finn and herself. "No." There was a clatter, and someone scrambled behind her. 

"Violet, stay calm, it will be okay." she heard Lucien say. The young woman shook her head, Ray dropped the gun down and opened her mouth before shutting it. "It will be okay." his voice slipped into french accented English, low and soothing. She shook her head and wrapped her arms around the bed clothes. Eyes going wide and hazy as she took a sharp quick breath in.

"Grab her!" Poe said, the girl straightened as if struck. Then faster then anyone could react, lept onto the railing of the walkway and lept off. 

"NO!" Finn yelled just a moment later, then grunted, Lucien moved, going by Ray and Poe to glance down. Violet laid still and unmoving below. Several more men ran to her there, As Ray let the rifle drop from her hands backing up and almost directly into Finn. 

"I hope you both are happy." Lucien said, Finn pointed the gun to him, and he held up his good arm. 

"Nothing can be done now." Poe said grimacing. Lucien glared to her then the other two. 

"Why, why would she just..." Finn frowned, but the police arrived then, along with a doctor. The men Lucien included where shuffled down against a wall and the ground floor. Violet was dead a white tarp was draped over her, as Poe and Finn wrapped things up with a very posh looking officer. Ray stood by all the men there Lucien grimaced towards her as she looked towards the young woman. Ray looked around, no one was really paying attention to her. She approached the man, carefully, the only thing stopping all these men was a single officer with the dropped rifle from before. Her hand shook, and she wasn't entirely why, as she wrote to the now more curious look of the man. 

'Why?' she wrote and gestured to Violet. Lucien frowned and looked down for a moment. 

"Her father." was all he said. Two of the men under Lucien rushed the officer, he fired quickly, into the stomach of one, as the rest rushed the officers. Ray ducked down, putting her hands onto her head and felt Lucien rush past her, in the sudden confusion, and several gun shots, three more people died. Lucien was gone no where to be found. Ray stood just behind Finn and Poe as reporters flooded in the aftermath. 

* * *

 

"The girls father was found to be quite the vile man." Poe stated, just out of his sling. He still was still as Ray sipped at her tea that she had gotten from the herbalist. It was bitter and nearly stomach churning but she needed it. She glanced to Finn and Poe as they read a fresh paper. On the front was the said man. "His wife tried to set the home ablaze." Poe grimaced and set the paper down. 

"It can't be helped Poe. We didn't know." Finn said. Ray sipped her tea again. 

"The poor girl." Poe sighed and shrugged. "Well, Ray, you did well for your first mission." Ray shifted in her seat. She looked down away from Poe to the ground. "I know, it is a shame to not save the girl, but with what she had been through she'd have been in the asylum for sure." 

"Her father was selling his women's bodies to some minor nobels, some people will do anything for money." Finn said sadly. Ray drank down the rest of the tea wishing she could have moved fast enough to save the girl. There was a knock on the door, Amy answered it quickly, one of the police officers walked in removing his hat and nodding to the three. "Yes what is it sir?" 

"Sir... there are three dead..." he said. "That man you found, Lucien was found with the dead." Ray perked up looking to the man. "He's in custody, but... he wont talk to anyone but the three of you." Ray bit her lip. 

"What on earth happened?" Poe demanded standing up. 

"I... I don't know sir. The man killed them all." the officer said. "It... its not polite to say with a lady at how they were found." he cast a look to Amy. 

"I knew there were sades all over!" Amy commented and put her hands to her face. The man's reaction was all Ray needed, whatever a sade was it probably was something worse then a murderer from the way these people all acted. Bad enough a young woman would kill herself to avoid. They were fairly quickly ushered to a vile sort of damp prison that wasn't fit to house rats let alone people. Lucien was missing his metal hand and arm, sitting on the ground still covered in blood. He glared up to the three people, eyes looking to Ray as he spoke. 

"My master is coming. You'd be wise to leave before he gets here." he told her. Ray opened her mouth and shut it quickly. 

"Your master?" Poe asked. Lucien looked to him. 

"My master, the master of the knights of Ren. You will face him now. He's tired of our failings." Lucien leaned back and closed his eyes. The two men straightened taking a step towards the bars exasperating Lucien from the world. "I will die here," Ray didn't move as one of the guards walked by, hands slipping into the mans pockets finding a set of keys. She winced a little, silencing the light jingle with a hiss. "As befitting my failure. Here I thought I could avoid violence." 

"Avoid it? What were you even going to do with the girl?" Finn demanded the man. Pointing his hand through the bars. 

"Take those people to court." Lucien sighed. "Leave I'm tired of this you two will not ever understand." Finn slapped the bars and face angry left. Poe shook his head and left just after him. Ray watched them for a moment, another guard passed, carrying a meal. While she watched one prisoner get fed Lucien moved standing up and going to the bars. "You have no place in this fight. Leave, and you will not be harm...ed." Ray moved closer to the bars, handing out the keys to him. He looked to her hands then back to her face, taking them carefully. "Why?" he asked her. 

"I want... I wanted to save her." Ray told him in a whisper. Lucien blinked drawing back away. He carefully hid the keys into the back of his pants. 

"You were not the only one. I will tell you again, leave these two. My master will not discriminate." She nodded to Lucien catching up to Finn and Poe before they even noticed her absence. She kept her eyes down as she followed them out and away from the prison ignoring the taunts and jeers from several inmates. She searched inside of herself for how she could help an enemy even wanting to save the girl. It came a little from just hearing the girl talk when she had heard her. A desperate whine, it triggered something in Ray that made her want to do everything to protect her. It was too late now, but there was always another in peril. Probably the two men before her come this master's arrival. She would have some training and learn more languages in order to hide her true nature. Ray took a breath of air as they came outside of the prison looking up at the sunny skies affirming her choices to herself. 


	4. A change of Pace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben Solo is a tenured professor in the university of New Jersey. He has a secret double life however, and is known to enemies only as Kylo Ren. It is time now however to take matters into his own hands, having several projects fail utterly.  
> Rey working with Cody breaks into self confidence after a successful errand leaves her in Buckingham Palace delivering a letter for him. Finn and Poe solve a crime of some dogs being killed.

He went over correspondences over his desk in the early hours of the day, shuffling the opened letters categorized carefully by one of his aids. Each one was for the most part mundane, just bandied about letters from other professors congratulating him on his recent tenured status. Some were transatlantic messages from the godsend that was the cable sat on yellow paper in short messages. All looking just as mundane as the others but each one itself was a cypher from one of his men, most were going along nicely. Perfectly well, currently there was a scandal of a prince in Europe having slept with several maids and even fathering two children, all whom were born with syphilis. He didn't much care for where it was, it was yet another story that made him a little brighter for the day. Just a little, the ones from Britian, or London in more particular were far worse and would leave him more then just annoyed. 

Lucien one of his more trusted men who despised having to do the deed of murder had failed utterly on that aspect. He had hoped he could flush out the true quarry Ben sought, but in the end had to resort to killing three people. Was jailed and then escaped, all due to two detectives that were on the case. What was a little more interesting, and less distressing was the mans telling of a new lad they had in their employ who had given him the keys to escape. Lucien said he could be cultivated to keep a watch on the two, but Lucien however couldn't go around to do so. These people knew who he was, and he had to spend some time in allowing the aftermath of the scandal to die down. Ben sighed his true quarry would know that he was after them, and thus would go into more deeper hiding. His key part had been the girl who had seen this one, but that was all gone and done now. No use in focusing on anything such as that, it was the past and there was no going back in time. 

"What of this lad?" his more personal Aid asked. Hux, he had copies of all the telegraph messages and went through them as well, it was more imperative to have the man's outlook on the matters. This lad, Ben only had the gender and the deed they did, Lucien may be protecting the boy due to him saving him. "Mederic says that he might be a good lad to become friends with." 

"He is working with our other friends?" Ben asked now going back over his other letters. One of which was from someone in Utah asking for details on his bloodline research of a few families. Wondering if he had more information, he did indeed. His storage held hundreds of documents of census work, all in tracking the families of royals. 

"Those? Yes." Hux shuffled the papers on his desk with a frown of distaste. "They are quite the busy two." he commented lightly. Ben nodded and pulled out a paper making a list of the papers his correspondences wanted for the temporary aid to copy down for them. With Lucien gone from the place, and his quarry likely fled to parts unknown he'd have to take matters into his own hands. 

"I have to go myself don't I?" Ben said and felt his eye twitch at the annoyance. No matter how much he trusted his men, they never seemed to be able to infiltrate the mire that was London. He had tried to displace these two, only to have them hire a lad who helped them become a greater thorn into his side. That plan to have them sidelined just long enough for the plans to be executed, hopefully without murder, was gone, thrown into the wide like seed fluff. 

"More then likely." Hux said as Ben pulled out a letter from the Vatican. His heart rate went up a little, finally, something even better. With his new tenured status he put a request in for the archives. For a simple book about his professorship from a doctor priest, was finally accepted. He smiled at it, feeling successful in that aspect at least. An expert in political upheavals after plague, strife, and so on he wanted the journal as a help in that aspect. The man would have done quite a bit of writing about the plague, and how several reacted with it particularly his more rich cousins and the pope at the time. Getting to learn about this he could write another paper on how the priesthood in particular handled the plague instead of the rich who fled like the cowards they were. 

"Why don't we send our friends a gift for their success of this case?" Ben jotted down a few more papers that were more requests, and settled the last of the papers down now done. 

"What do you have in mind exactly?" Hux stood with a light bow to him. 

"From Myra, they would like that." His temporary aid walked in then, bowing his head. 

"Th-thank you si-sir." His aid said, the young man had black hair and looked more nervous then anyone he had ever seen. His clothes always had frays along the edge that he fiddled with creating a tatty sort of appearance in him. 

"There is no problem Dopheld, thank you for telling me you would be late." Ben smiled to him as Hux left to do his job of sending the package to the two. He handed the list to the younger man, who bowed his head again as Ben shuffled out. Aids of all kinds roamed around the outside doing odd jobs for other tenured professors. Ben was heading for the dead, with the letter from the Vatican, fully going use his status to leave for the archives as soon as possible. Dopheld went to Ben's small closet holding his researching materials, pulling out drawers and papers. "Make sure to keep the references to the books. Even if they won't have them." The younger man nodded as Ben left him to do his work, as he himself went to the Dean. He could use the excuse of the Vatican's acceptance to head out to Britain. 

The older man, was more then willing enough to accept nearly anything so long as there was someone else to stand in for him. Hux can do that for him, and he had a lecture to go through before he could go through his plans and buy tickets to the Vatican, planing a overland route out through London to 'visit family' as he put it. It was really imperative he did so, having never seen them since his mother moved to america. It took little time to go through his normal lecture of the poor woes of the rich who had to PAY people to farm for them in the aftermath of the plague. Getting several chuckles from the attending students. 

"In conclusion," he finished looking over his students. "The more privilege one is born to in times of strife the more likely you would survive, but also more likely you would have people banging on your door for what you have. They'd just take it, rather then ask." he grinned as the bell rang through allowing them release. "My friend Hux shall be doing this I've been wanting to go to the Vatican archives for years! I hope to see you all soon!" he waved. Only a few students stuck around to ask more details on it. He'd be preparing for at least three days to travel out, and no, they were not free from the upcoming tests. In fact Hux was a much more strict teacher then him on that aspect and they better be in attendance or it could mean an automatic failure. 

* * *

 

"Wonderful work Ray." Cody told her, as she handed over the reply letter. She nodded to him sitting down and grinning at her success. Marcus panted as he walked through the door settling down beside her looking exhausted. "I see that Ray succeeded before you." Marcus grimaced, he was wearing far better clothes then he usually wore. All the better to avoid detection in the Palace. Ray herself was not, wearing simple clothes of a young lad who needed to run errands and quickly. She wasn't exactly pretending to be mute there, but was talking as little as possible. Cody smiled to her bowing his head lightly. 

"The lad is devious." Marcus stated. "He charmed his way in with a laundry maid, while I had to deal with a irate guard." He frowned and sighed before sitting up properly. 

"A maid?" Cody asked, Ray blushed. Her task had been to deliver a secret letter to the palace in a certain place, wait for an hour IN the palace, then go to the same place and get a reply letter. Instead of just trying to get in through a guard, she went to the maids doing laundry and started helping them. Not saying a word as they giggled at her, and then one just started to tell her what to do. Soon Ray was gathering up clothes and linens from rooms, leaving the letter in one room, and then continuing the work. Until finally the reply would have come in, slipping away and getting the letter before leaving them just as quietly as she started helping them. Cody chuckled, and opened the letter reading it and smiling as he did so. 

Ray had read both letters, they weren't sealed and she assumed he meant for her to do so. The words were that of two lovers, using fairly common euphemisms, and she had no idea what it meant. But the old man smiled, closing the letter and nodding the both of them. "I am impressed Ray, they didn't even suspect anything?" she wrote down a few words on the slate, wiping them off, and then writing more as she ran out of space after showing the two men.  

'No, I just started helping the maids with the laundry, then they started telling me what to do. I gathered things for them, carrying them out, and left the letter in the place you told me.' Cody nodded to her and Marcus smiled. 

"They only allowed such a thing since you look like a young lad." Marcus hedged resentfully. She just grinned to him, feeling confidence in her surge. 

"He learns finely, Marcus the book if you will." Marcus sighed pushing himself up and vanishing in the still unknown home. "I am going to give you a book I wrote myself on these matters. The next time I call on you I will quiz you on its subjects." Ray nodded. Marcus came back with a leather embossed book handing it over to her. 

"You're lucky lad. You could probably even pass for a maid." Ray chocked as Marcus settled back down, Cody just smiled, folding the letter into a pocket in his house clothes.

"Yes well, how are the two?" Cody questioned. 

'They are solving a case involving missing dogs in a country estate.' she told him. 'They want me to stay at the home to take possible cases.' Cody nodded, Ray pushed the book into her clothes, just under her patched clothes. She wanted to look ratty, and wanted to look nonthreatening. 

"Thank you lad, you may leave now." Ray smiled standing up and bowing to the older man. 

"Good luck there lad." Marcus said, she curtsied like any lady might making the man flush and Cody burst into a quick laugh before she left waving to Dredge outside holding up the little girl from before to look at a bird nest. He nodded to her as she carefully opened and shut the gate, heading back to home. Stopping at shop selling bread and frowning over the selections of bread. Most were dense hard packed things that smelled like burned plaster. Ladies were buying it, instead Ray went over to the section selling flour, and found some that wasn't so obviously adulterated. Getting the flour she stopped by a brewery as well getting some yeast from them and then only then headed back into the home. Amy was going for the day leaving Ray to make the bread herself. The breads often sold, and bought by Amy started unsettling her stomach and while made her feel full, didn't seem to be actually filling. Ray shook herself, settling a portion of the dough aside to use to make more bread later down the line. 

A few of the books were cooking books and while Ray didn't exactly understand some of the words, having some spelled in strange ways the knowledge of it stuck inside of her head like a leaden weight. It seemed strange, never having read anything other then the bible in any capacity and then finding out she could recall not only the exact words but also the exact page something was on. She set to reading the book Cody gave her which appeared to be more of a sort of journal of sorts rather than a book. Detailing rules and ways to make ways through just about any strata of society, mainly high society with added notes in updates of the modern day as loose portions stuffed in the applicable pages. After a boring portion she found her mind wandering to the letters. 

It was both odd and yet not odd to her, all full of words she had seen people use for their lovers, and with long words she was sure could mean something horrible. Ray decided to read a few dictionaries that Poe and Finn had to be able to come up on words after her next lesson with Rose's father. She quickened her pace out, heading through the damp and still coal smelling streets to the little shop. Right now he was busy with two women who looked more kilted up with layers of fabric that it was a miracle that they could breathe let alone not drop from the heat of it. She dodged past them looking for all the world like a shop boy hired on and getting to work as soon as he got there. He barked a few things at her names of herbs and she quickly set to grabbing them, smiling at him. 

The ladies giggled as she bowed lowly handing over the herbs and various things to him, and then bowed theatrically to them. "Upstairs go on now." he told her and she grinned quickly heading up the hidden staircase up to Rose and her sister. Her sister had gotten engaged to a man who owned three ships and worked for the East India Trading Company. Right now they were fawning over several silk bolts that they were going to fashion in a dress. "Ray!" Rose called and motioned her forwards. "Hold his up for me." Ray grabbed the butter like fabric, holding it up to Rose's sister. 

"I'm going to be a Paige soon!" Rose pinned the fabric a little onto her sister, then started marking it. Ray helped peel it off unpinning it, and then settling down for the two to cut and sew. _"How are you Ray?"_   she asked. _"Do those two still not know what you are?"_

_"No, I... I don't know if I can tell them."_ Ray responded quietly. 

_"I understand, But it can get worse the longer this plays out."_ Rose told her. She motioned Ray to sit down, as Paige made some tea in the small kitchen area. _"We have a tale of a warrior woman, who as soldiers came to her family looking for soldiers to fight. Her father was old and sickly and her brother too young to fight. IF she did not take up the blade her family could be shamed and killed. So she knowing the ways of the sword, took up the mantle of a man and fought in the war. But when the war was over she went back home, and was forced into becoming a concubine. So to not be shamed, she killed herself. Her named was Hua Mulan, she... was a good woman."_ Rose told her. Ray scowled. 

_"What are you saying?"_ Ray asked back feeling confused. Rose shifted a little. 

_"She means that even when you do this, and could be lauded, your true self will stay, and cause strife."_ her sister told her. _"If our men were more accepting of her, and accepting that women can be equals in such matters, like my new husband, she wouldn't have died."_ Ray sighed and nodded to the two. "But onto lighter matters, come lets get your schooling finished, you learn fast!" Ray smiled nodding. 

* * *

Ben Solo waited patiently with a new notebook and several pencils. He didn't even try to bring ink pens with him, and even had the thought to grab his traveling cane and glasses. The entire library was being renovated with new shelves made with glass fronts and thick protective shelving. Along with some more retro fitting going on, it wasn't electrical just yet. After several fire's due to it they were waiting for science to try to catch up on it. Each bookcase had its own unique lock and key so that as he waited the Librarian Jean-Baptist gathered up the key that was needed for the book he wanted. Just a simple journal of a priest during the Protestant Reformation. Almost unknown to the church, otherwise his request would never be allowed, said priest was a fan of codes, and his hope was that this simple journal contained codes. His quarry as far as he knew was related to this priest and he hoped to gain a name or more to better trace them. Then there would be another volume in the case next to it, that he wanted to take. 

The librarian bowed to him motioning him out and to the case as something in the place clattered to the ground, opening it for him and then moving away leaving him alone as he took out the two books. Slipping the one he wanted into his clothes and stumbling a bit as he went to a small desk nearby. The Librarian mostly kept watch on the workmen, as he copied down the entire contents of the book using a short hand sort of code that let him use symbols for the most common words. It was quick work, and he was done, without ever asking for more. It seemed to make the man very happy he was so undemanding, and very quick to do his thing and leave without even demanding another visit. "Th-thank you." he bowed to the librarian leaning heavily on the cane while doing so. 

It was fairly rest assured that his theft would be unnoticed, the small thing was more of a covered leaflet then a book. It contained a similar proclamation with around fifty names, several he needed to fill out what he needed. Getting back to his very low quality hotel room, the marks of a professor trying to save money, he read through it from the moon's light. Very much in the vein of the 'we are leaving the church' protestant proclamation, this was written as a 'here are your new priests who agree with this statement'. He wrote down several names Ranlyn Tyrus being the key one he wanted. His child, and then that grandchild, was the man and quarry he sought. Their names were nearly eradicated from history, and he knew that likely meant they were spies for the Kings and Queens of Europe. It would take finding local sources, people who wrote down in journals themselves to find them more then likely. Most legitimate sources were gone, stricken from census records, this journal being one of the only things he discovered that pertains to this family. 

After the night he settled into a train reading a paper. A young woman chatted a little to her older woman with a bit of a giggle. "Look nanny! The two are leaving for America!" the older woman sighed. Ben's eyes glazed over the article in question. 

"Girls should not read the paper!" the nanny replied trying to take the paper. The girl folded it back up holding it close to her chest. "Give it now." she warned, with a sigh of frustration the girl gave it over. 

'Holmes and Watson to go to America in search of Nefarious royal killer.' it went onto detail a package being sent in fairly graphic detail. It was almost gleeful in that matter, the writer so invested in the matter the details of their leaving as when or where to wasn't there. It moved into an ad for a lady's soap containing arsenic, promising to get rid of freckles and moths. The train stalled only once, leaving him just hours behind his intended schedule, when he finally landed into London. Getting the two's home location was the most simple thing, he lied about trying to find a stolen necklace, taking by a lady he was going to marry, getting their home and finally going to leave a more indelicate message. The home was very flammable, along with the gas lines he new were heading into it. Knocking and waiting, like any gentleman he tried the door frowning when he found it unlocked. That was not correct-

"Hello?" a young woman called and froze just coming down a set of stairs and in a slight state of undress. Without a coat, and corset, she wore only a black dress with white lace on the edge which exposed her shoulders and neck. Freckles dotted all over her exposed shoulders, with the lack of the layers, corsety and various other aspects of womens clothing it clung to her slim body leaving the skirt flowing around her almost like thick smoke around her. He blinked, mind blank as he stared at her. 

"I am... I am sorry... is this Holmes and Watson's residence?" he asked softly, mentally shaking himself. No one was supposed to be here. 

"Yes! This is!" she said brightly and looked him over. "You were very rude..." she added. 

"I did say sorry, but I am looking for them, I appear to have an item of mine stolen." he bowed to her doffing his hat. 

"Oh? I am sorry but Mr. Holmes and Watson are out on a business trip currently with the landlady. She wished to see to some family in America." the girl was for the most part business pressing forwards confidently to usher him out. 

"Just who are you?" he asked her not moving and only shutting the door behind him. She took a breath looking to the side and then back with a bright smile. 

"I am Mr. Holmes fiancee." she gave him a short curtsy. 

"Then-" there was another knock on the door. 

"RAYMOND?" Called a woman's voice. The girl started, and flinched. She pushed past him, locking the door and then made for the back, he followed quickly hearing the name being called again as he left with her to the backyard. Most of the area was taken up by a thickly glassed conservatory, the rest just a small seating area, she pressed into the glass building ducking down with him into the thick benches. The name was called several more times, just barely heard as someone moved about the building and then, he watched through the glass as a small handsome left with a woman in lavender dress. 

"Is she gone?" The girl asked him as he stood giving her a look. 

"Why are we hiding?" he questioned back. 

"I... I was going... to leave him a gift." she told him stalling a few moments. He held his hand out to her and she took it, standing up. She didn't brush off the dirty and leaves that were now on the hem of the dress. "She was not supposed to come back..." she told him carefully. He stared down at her with a frown. "But I can help you find your lost item." he blinked to her. 

"I, yes of course." she led him back through the house confidently to the outside, just after listening for a long moment. It would take only a moment and it would send more of a message... "It was a necklace, a cameo of my grandmother. I left it in a hotel in this city years ago, it has an inscription on the back..." explained as she led him outside and shut the door locking it behind her from a key she had hidden in her waist line. "It says to 'to the ideal' signed with the name of her husband." She got several looks at her as she walked down the street as it grew darker. He pulled off his coat, wrapping it around her. 

"I am not cold." she told him. 

"HAVE some decency!" he scolded. She scoffed pulling the coat more around her shoulders. 

"What, and have them not assume I'm a whore?" Ben froze still, as she continued to walk. 

"You..." he quickened his pace. 

"What hotel?" she asked and he blinked again. 

"Browne's?" he replied, settling down by her again. The woman was completely baffling to him. 

"Oh good, follow me then we will talk to the manager." He followed her blankly, unable to really think for the moment. It was, baffling, yes. She wasn't supposed to be there, and wasn't walking with the intent to just loose him in the streets. Head held high as the last few nightly stranglers gave them disdainful looks. She didn't even bother them with a glance, heading towards the hotel with the unerring sense of one who knew the streets utterly. 

"I, do not think it would be the same man." he told her the Browne's coming up, it was bright and busy even at this later hour. His heart rate picked up, he could not chance this. He frowned at himself, but grabbed her, intending to pull her into an alley. Her elbow however made it's self a home in his stomach, she grabbed the cane from his limp hands, wresting the hidden blade in it out and whirled back and away from him holding it out. He held his hands up, backing up slowly into the alley he intended on taking her. 

"What are you doing?" she demanded. He opened his mouth to answer, when someone shouted something in Chinese. He watched as her face fell slack for a moment, and then jerk beyond him as the call came again. She raced past him down further into the alleys before he followed her. "ROSE?" she called dancing behind a large garbage pile. She called another name quickly then came to a dead stop. Someone else ran out as he came up behind her, leaving the bloody mess that was the remains of a person behind. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> moths, are another word for moles. Just FYI

**Author's Note:**

> I'm putting this here, now, after the fact. But to avoid spoilers, I will wait a little to tag portions after I post them. Don't worry about it getting too bad. What I have tagged now what is going to be happening. The spoilers will be for mystery portions that might need tags. As always though, if I need tags, tell me!


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